Snip Snip
by 7team7
Summary: As an adult, Sakura cut her hair for two reasons.


As an adult, Sakura cut her hair for two reasons.

Before Sasuke had to leave for his mission, he loved to brush her hair.

Stroke after stroke, her hair was always so well cared for with him around.

Genin Sakura would be supremely jealous, not only of that fact that _Sasuke-kun _was carefully brushing her hair, but also of the shiny, shiny quality. Even Ino once asked her for hair care tips after noticing how glossy it had become. Sakura just smiled and said she owes it mostly to her husband. When Sasuke was around, Sakura just tended to glow.

Sasuke loved Sakura's hair no matter what length, but when she was able to grow it out long again it was a reminder of how she had changed. She didn't need short hair to prove that she was strong or no longer wrapped up in vanity. And the times had changed: she now had the luxury of living in a peaceful era. She could take time to sit with her husband while he lovingly brushed her hair. It was intimate and indulgent, and they both treasured those quiet moments spent together.

When Sasuke walked through their home, sometimes instead of kisses, he would simply run his fingers through her hair. There were never knots, his meticulous brushing took care of that. He would grab the ends, twist a section around his finger, watch it fall like a waterfall when he parted it one way. Just because. Because he could. Because she was his wife.

And sometimes that was all it took to make Sakura blush. She would be playing with Sarada and he would sneak up behind her with shinobi stealth and ghost a hand through her hair.

"Ah, Sasuke, not now," Sakura ducked her head away from him and let Sarada toddle happily to her father's arms.

"Why? I'm not doing anything." But he knew. He knew he affected her, he saw the pink cheeks and he couldn't hide his smirk. He picked up his daughter and rested her on his hip, "isn't your mama's hair so pretty?" Sarada giggled happily between her two parents, choosing instead to grab (very hard, much more firmly than any baby should be capable of, she was certainly her mother's daughter) onto her papa's hair. Sarada liked to play peek-a-boo with his bangs that covered his rinnegan. He just let her.

Sasuke loved to kiss his wife. After brushing out one section of hair, he would pull the curtain of pink back over her shoulder and drop a kiss on the back of her neck. It was a ritual for him and he loved her reactions when he added a little something extra: a whispered "I love you", a gentle scrape of his teeth, a million little kisses all over and he had her blushing, shivering, laughing. Routine was good and comfortable, but he liked to surprise her sometimes. Remind her of his feelings. Sometimes Sakura would turn around to look at him. She would take a long look at him before facing forward again, content with the image of her husband's deep, dark eyes full of adoration for her, even when doing something as simple as brushing her hair.

And Sasuke was so much taller than her, it was comfortable for him to kiss the top of her head and bury his nose in her hair. He liked to tease her by denying her a kiss on the lips, saying it was just so _annoying _bending over to match her height.

It hadn't always been like that. There was a time when Sasuke was hesitant and bashful when he showed affection. Every time he tucked her hair behind her ear to see her face more clearly, his hand tingled a little. Sometimes before he could drop his hand safely back to his side, Sakura would grab his wrist and kiss the inside of his palm, as if to say it's okay to be like this. To be vulnerable, to be so nakedly affectionate. Those times he couldn't help but slide his hand under her jaw to cradle her face. His wife was so pretty.

And she smelled divine.

Once when they were laying in bed, a half-asleep Sakura turned to face Sasuke, "what are you doing? Are you..sniffing me?" Sasuke quickly rolled away onto his back, but he didn't like being even that far from his wife at night, so he turned to face her again. He wasn't looking at her, rather he was admiring strands of pastel between his fingers, "can you blame me? You smell good and your hair is in my face. What am I supposed to do, not breathe?"

Sakura giggled and laid her head back on the pillow. Her husband was always so funny. It was flattering that after all this time of being married, he still cuddled deeply into her back and just breathed in her scent. She liked feeling him there.

When Sasuke was preparing to leave for _the _mission, Sakura tried to put on a brave face. She was confident in their connection, but that didn't mean she wouldn't miss him. After changing Sarada into a new outfit a whole size bigger than what she had been wearing before, Sasuke regarded his daughter for a moment before commenting, "I wonder how tall she'll be before I can come home."

Sakura's heart was already cracking a little when he turned to his wife and eyed her hair, "your hair will be so long."

He noticed her eyes filling with tears and brought her close to his chest, just stroking the back of her head in comfort. It was the least he could do when he would have to be away for who knows how long.

But his wife wasn't weak and she would manage. She even cracked a joke: "you're going to look like Madara if you keep growing your hair out."

He scoffed, but said nothing. He couldn't see himself letting anyone but his wife cut his hair, so that could very well be the case.

A year into Sasuke's mission, Sakura had been considering cutting her hair, but the choice was kind of made for her. Brushing her hair so thoroughly just wasn't the same without him and short hair was certainly easier to manage.

And their precious daughter looked positively adorable with her short hair.

Sarada was an Uchiha, and that meant she ran hot. Sakura used to worry about her playing outside and getting cold, but Sarada would always shrug off her mother's attempts at putting a cardigan around her shoulders. Sarada liked having short hair because it kept her temperature cool.

On accident, Sarada got bubblegum in her mother's bubblegum colored hair (to this day, Sakura truly has no idea how that happened), and it would take a lot of finesse to get it out. Sakura didn't have time for this, she had a hospital to run and a child to take care of.

So she chopped it off. And cutting just the chunk with gum (really, how did Sarada manage this? It should be a ninja trap) would have left an incredibly awkward and uneven gap in her hair, so she ended up with short hair all around.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to grow her hair out again when she saw how elated her daughter was because, "Mama we have the same hair!"

Short hair was just fine.


End file.
